One of the birds had the misfortune to learn that during Sunday’s Triple-A game between the Buffalo Bisons and the Durham Bulls. The seagull was struck by a pitch, carried off the field by a player and later flew away.

The Bisons were batting in the bottom of the 11th inning when the seagull flew between the mound and home plate just as Durham’s pitcher released the ball.

The ball knocked the seagull to the ground. The batter swung and missed, with the ball getting away from the catcher. Since it was a third strike, the batter ran to first and was thrown out.

Umpires conferred on the bizarre happenings and ruled play should have stopped as soon as the bird was hit. The bird beaning was captured on videotape by the stadium’s camera crew during the Bisons’ 3-2 loss in 16 innings.

In 1983, Dave Winfield, then with the New York Yankees, threw a ball that hit a seagull at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Winfield was charged with cruelty to animals, a charge that was dropped the next day.

I’m sorry, but a AAA pitcher who can’t kill a seagull with his fastball is probably not Major League material.

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